The Banana Republican

Pray for me, a poor sinner! Email: thebananarepublican[at]gmail[dot]com - "Neither do I wish to be obstinate in my opinions, but if I have written anything erroneous ... I submit all to the judgment and correction of the Holy Roman Church" -- St. Thomas Aquinas.

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Friday, May 26, 2017

God
has given me a vocation to the Dominican life so that I can best live
out these gifts of His: a burning apostolic and missionary zeal to
"praise God, bless Him, and preach Him everywhere" speaking "only with
God or about God" and to "live, defend,
and propagate the faith in the atmosphere of the Church" by means of the
celebration of the Sacraments especially the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, love of contemplative silence, purity and detachment "from all
evil," "continual prayer and immolation," manly strength founded in the
certainty "of the redemptive power of the Cross," inextinguishable joy
flowing from my "adoption by grace into the very Family of the Trinity,"
fierce loyalty even unto martyrdom to the Catholic Church especially
the pope and bishops and religious superiors, an intense love of Our
Lady and her Most Holy Rosary, an ardent longing to imitate the lives of
the Dominican saints, and an insatiable desire for the study of truth
(cf. Fr. M. M. Philipon, O.P., "The Dominican Soul" https://www.ewtn.com/library/PRIESTS/OP-SOUL.TXT).

Please help me enter religious life by contributing to gofundme.com/huysman and by sharing this flyer with friends and family and fellow parishioners via text message, email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and any other platforms you use - thank you! God bless and Mary keep you.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Denzinger 796: In these words a description of the justification of a sinner is given as being a translation from that state in which man is born a child of the first Adam to the state of grace and of the "adoption of the sons" [Rom. 8:15] of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Savior; and this translation after the promulgation of the Gospel cannot be effected except through the laver of regeneration [can. 5 de bapt.], or a desire for it, as it is written: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" [John 3:5].

How do we know that baptism of desire is true and not up for debate? That is, how can we be certain that an adult can make an act of Catholic faith and hope and perfect contrition with the desire for the sacrament of baptism and be prevented by sudden death from receiving the sacrament, yet still be saved? How do we know that it is wrong to say, as Fr. Leonard Feeney, S.J. did, that no adult who is not baptized with water (even if he is justified by the desire thereof, informed by perfect contrition, and suddenly dies) can go to Heaven.{1}

the 31st error of Michael Baius condemned by Pope St. Pius V, O.P. in the 10/1/1567 bull "Ex omnibus afflictionibus" in Denzinger 1031: "Perfect and sincere charity, which is from a 'pure heart and good conscience and a faith not feigned' [1 Tim. 1:5], can be in catechumens as well as in penitents without the remission of sins" (http://patristica.net/denzinger/)

Notes
{1} For example, it is hard to interpret these quotes from Bread of Life in any other way:

It is now: Baptism of Water, or damnation! If you do not
desire that Water, you cannot be justified. And if you do not get it, you
cannot be saved.

If you do not receive Baptism of Water, you cannot be saved, whether you were guilty or not guilty for not having received it. If it was not your fault that you did not receive it, then you just do not go to Heaven. You are lacking something required for Heaven. You did not add your own positive rejection of the requirement so as to give you a positive deficiency. Yours is a permanent lack of something required for eternal salvation.

He will then say, "Well, cannot you be justified in the New Testament without Baptism?"
The answer to this is, "Suppose you can?"
He will then say, "If you die in the state of justification, without yet being baptized, are you not saved?"
You must answer him, "No, you are not. That is your reasoning in the matter. That is not Christ’s statement."
And if he persists in saying, "Well, where does one go who dies in the state of justification which has been achieved without Baptism?" — insist that he does not go to Heaven.
And if he goes on to yell at you angrily, "Where are you going to send him — to Hell?", say: "No, I am not going to send him to Hell because I am not the judge of the living and the dead. I am going to say what Christ said, ‘He cannot go into Heaven unless he is baptized by water.’"

Sedevacantism Is Heretical
First, a prayer for the Holy Father Pope Francis.

+ O God, the Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, look down
favorably upon Thy servant Francis, whom Thou hast been pleased to
appoint pastor over Thy Church; grant, we beseech Thee, that he may
benefit both by word and example those over whom he is set, and thus
attain unto life eternal, together with the flock committed to his care.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ Who livest and reigneth with Thee in the
unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. +

The Catholic Church produces "prophets ... holy men ...
workers of heavenly wonders,"* confessors, and martyrs in every
generation. Where are the sedevacantist prophets, saints, miracle workers,
confessors, martyrs?** Where are the sedevacantist Marian apparitions and
stigmata?

Sunday, April 09, 2017

Happy Palm Sunday! Wishing you and yours a blessed Holy Week and Easter.

Pray for the victims of today's bombings in Tanta and Alexandria, if you will, but do not invoke them as martyrs: "No one, whatever almsgiving he has practiced, even if he has shed blood
for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the
bosom and unity of the Catholic Church" (dogma defined by Pope Eugene
IV in the bull "Cantate Domino" in Denzinger 714). It may be that before these Copts died they were able to make an act of Catholic faith, hope, and perfect contrition and thus die in God's friendship; but if they died as they lived (as Coptic Orthodox), they were outside the Church and could not be saved.

Pray the Rosary for peace!"Pray a great deal for the Holy Father," said Our Lord to Sr. Lucia. Are you offering your prayers at Mass and your daily Rosaries and Lenten penances for the Holy Father Pope Francis?

Different bishops propose different interpretations of Pope Francis's Apostolic Exhortation "Amoris Laetitia," and four cardinals felt it their duty to ask "yes or no" questions (five dubia) of the Holy Father regarding the proper interpretation of Amoris Laetitia -- His Holiness has yet to answer. Let us pray that His Holiness does answer, because seemingly if no answer comes then certain bishops and priests and laity will think it is OK for someone who habitually fornicates with no purpose of amendment to receive Holy Communion (take the case of a Catholic man who was validly married and then civilly divorced and "remarried" and has intercourse with the new woman -- objectively, no matter what the conscience of this man says, his relations with the new woman were acts of fornication, and his priest is bound in justice and charity to tell him to cease having relations with the new woman and resolve to live a good Catholic life before he can receive absolution and Holy Communion).

There is an excellent "The Road to the Dubia" series of sermons hosted on Sensus Fidelium - subscribe today to this outstanding channel. Rather than waste your time filtering through tons of articles and forums on "Amoris Laetitia," give these sermons a listen, especially "The Road to the Dubia: The Dubia" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDMXLcn5zcg). Remember the priest in your prayers.

This sermon provides excellent food for thought. This priest, very faithful, cautious, and balanced, justly rebukes sedevacantist heretics and those who say that the Holy Father can already at this stage "be judged guilty of the canonical crime of heresy" and, towards the end, draws on St. Robert Bellarmine and Fr. Pietro Ballerini to succinctly explain the traditionally acknowledged possibility of a formally heretical pope (one who obstinately teaches heresy as a private doctor without binding the Church to it, not the impossible scenario of a pope binding the whole Church to an erroneous teaching).

How might such a case play out? Let us draw from the sermon and from John of St. Thomas, O.P.

If there were a pope who publicly made a materially heretical statement (one denying a dogma), "the Cardinals, or the Roman clergy, or the Roman Synod" could determine that the statement is heretical and proceed to do the following as per Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 2:11-14, and Titus 3:10-11:
(1) private correction; if the Pope ignores this, then-->
(2) a first formal public correction; if the Pope ignores this, then-->
(3) a second formal public correction; if the Pope ignores this, then-->

the clergy, assembled in an "imperfect general council" could issue a declaratory sentence that the pope "is guilty of the canonical crime of heresy" and has been deposed "immediately" and "authoritatively" by "Christ the Lord" and must be avoided by the faithful; the Church, properly speaking, is not judging the Pope ("the first see is judged by no one"1983 Canon 1404), but acting "ministerially" and "dispositively" in pronouncing the Pope to have been judged and deposed by Christ and no longer to be followed by Catholics (John of St. Thomas, O.P. qtd. in Robert Siscoe and John Salza). At every stage before then, the pope is still the pope and to treat the pope as an antipope would be a schismatic act; if one were to die in that schismatic state without repentance, he would be damned forever: "we declare, say, define, and proclaim to
every human creature that they by necessity for salvation are entirely
subject to the Roman Pontiff" (dogma defined by Pope Boniface VIII in Unam Sanctam in Denzinger 469).

"Neither do I wish to be obstinate in my opinions, but if I have
written anything erroneous ... I submit all to the judgment and
correction of the Holy Roman Church" (St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P.).

When Our Lady gave the Rosary (her Psalter) directly to St. Dominic in 1214 and revived the Rosary through Bl. Alan de La Roche, how many Mysteries did she have them preach? Fifteen, not twenty. (A)(B)

How many mysteries did Catholics pray for 788 years (1214-2002)? Fifteen, not twenty.

How many parts of the Church? Three (Militant, Suffering, Triumphant), not four. (D)

How many sets of mysteries in Philippians 2:7-9? Three, not four. (A)

How many stages in the spiritual life? Three (purgative, illuminative, unitive), not four. (D)

How many stages of the day? Three ("get up ..., rest at noon, ... go to bed at night"). (A)

How many times is the Angelus prayed daily? Three, not four. (A)

How many days did Our Lady of Lourdes spend with St. Bernadette? Fifteen, not twenty. (A)

On First Saturday's, how many minutes company do we give Our Lady of Fatima and and how many mysteries of the Rosary do we meditate upon? Fifteen, not twenty. (A)

What is a five-decade Rosary in Portugal, where "the dogma of the faith will always be preserved"? Our Lady of Fatima said um terço, not um quarto. (A)

How many fish did the Apostles catch in John 21:11? 153, not 203. (C)

What is the traditional weekly five-decade rhythm? Birth-death-resurrection-birth-death-resurrection until Sunday's mysteries depending on the liturgical season, not birth-death-resurrection-birth-ministry-death-birth-resurrection. (A)

Is it good to meditate on Our Lord's Baptism, His Institution of Holy Matrimony at the Wedding of Cana, His Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, His Transfiguration, and His Institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper? Yes, but don't make them additional decades in Our Lady's Psalter.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Deo volente, this the start of weekly updates here. Pray very much for me, "the worst of all" sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), and for my intentions -- please have Masses said if you can. Pray very much for the Holy Father Pope Francis.

"Come and see" (John 1:39).

Praying you will attend a Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) on Sundays and invite Catholic and non-Catholic friends/acquaintances/strangers, especially the homeless and others who have no one to pray and offer sacrifices for them. Don't be shy; "go into the main crossroads and invite everyone you can find to come to the wedding" (Matthew 22:9). Dress modestly and abide by the rules on reception of Holy Communion; trust in God and turn your cell phones off (make emergency arrangements beforehand so that you can "keep watch for one hour" (Mark 14:37)).

As Fr. Jason Barrone says{1}, the first time you will be confused, the second time you will be intrigued, and the third time you will be hooked. Go to Ecclesiadei.org/masses.cfm. Read "The Merit of a Mass" by Fr. Chad Ripperger and pray for him. Follow along with the readings via latinliturgy.com/id18.html. Ask Our Lady and virtuous friends how you can help your priest begin offering a Latin Mass on Sundays at your parish if he does not already, and how you can help him celebrate the Ordinary Form with more reverence in the meantime (e.g., ad orientem, no female altar servers and readers and Eucharistic ministers, the priest being the only one to give out Holy Communion, the servers wearing proper vestments, etc.)

The restoration of the traditional Latin Mass "is a work of the Holy" Ghost, it "cannot be stopped"!{2}

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Forgive me for my lack of activity on this blog, especially my lack of zeal in cleaning up so many of my posts which I wrote with great pride, no charity, and (to borrow an expression I've heard Dr. Taylor Marshall use in one of his excellent lessons) "spiritual bad breath." Pray for me and please be patient as I make revisions!

For access to works of Fr. Martin Jugie, A.A. (1878-1954) which I have been busy digitizing, email me at thebananarepublican(at)gmail(dot)com.

Sunday, May 01, 2016

Brothers and sisters, have you consecrated yourself to Our Blessed Mother? "Do not put it off day after day" [Sir 5:7] because "now is the day of salvation" [2 Cor 2:6].

O Immaculate, Queen of Heaven and Earth,
refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother,
to whom there has been confided by God
the whole order of Mercy:
I prostrate myself before Thee,
poor sinner that I am,
and I supplicate Thee humbly
to accept my entire being as your property and possession,
and to do with me
and with all the faculties of my soul and body,
with my entire life,
my death and my eternity,
whatsoever may please Thee.
Do with me as Thou would,
so as to realize what is written of Thee:
“She shall crush your head;” and again:
“Through Thee alone have all the heresies of the world been vanquished.”
May I be in Thy immaculate and most merciful hands
a docile instrument to make Thee known and loved
by so many tepid and mislead souls,
and thus advance in the greatest manner possible
the most holy Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
For in truth, where Thou hast gained entrance,
Thou dost obtain the grace
of the conversion and sanctification of souls,
since all the graces,
passing through Thy hands,
gush upon all of us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Amen.1

Our Lady of Pochaev2,
St. Joseph the Worker, Sts. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. Louis de
Montfort, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Saturday, April 02, 2016

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments" [Matthew 22:37-40].

My brothers and sisters,

There is no greater favor you can do for someone, living or deceased, than to have the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ offered for them in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Put together a list of everyone you know and give it to a priest and have him offer Mass for all those on the list.

"Many souls go to Hell because they have no one to pray for them or make sacrifices for them," Our Lady told us at Fátima. Let us never cease to beg our Eucharistic Lord to give us the strength to be the ones praying and offering sacrifices for everyone we know, living and deceased--may He enable us to have Mass said for every single person we know before we die.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Only God is perfect in that He loves Himself as much as He can be loved; only the saints in Heaven are perfect in that they love God as much as they as creatures can love Him: their love always tends toward God "as much as it can." But Christ would not command us to be perfect if it were not possible to be perfect in this life in some sense: there are people in this world who are perfect because they follow Matthew 5:48 by cooperating with God's grace to remove everything (mortal sin) from their affections contrary to love, and everything that would prevent their "mind's affections from tending wholly to God," even though (excepting our Lord and our Lady and Sts. Joseph and John the Baptist{2}) their affections might not always in fact tend to God.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

I wish you a very Merry Christmas. May our Lord and our God bring you ever closer to Him as you celebrate His Nativity this year, and may He grant you and your family many more years to celebrate this sublime mystery together.
Below I will present the statements of Popes (canonized or not), Saints/Blesseds/Venerables/Servants of God, and scholars on the Servant of God Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498),{1} with citations of primary sources when possible, as is customary here. How else is the reader supposed to accept an attribution as genuine? Let this blog be a sanctuary from the poisoned well of spurious or specious quotations from the popes, saints, and Fathers, which would carry great authority if only they were independently verifiable by the reader.

As often as possible, I will demonstrate biases of these sources. E.g., "Catholic,""Orthodox who was a disciple of Savonarola but upon Savonarola's death left the Catholic Church and composed writings against her," "Lutheran," "Modernist tendencies," "lifelong disciple of Savonarola," etc.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

This is a very rough translation of the article "Calixtines" by G. Bareille in the 1905 Dictionnaire de théologie catholique 2:1364-1369 (Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1905), pages 679-681 of the PDF <https://ia800301.us.archive.org/21/items/dictionnairedet02pt1vaca/dictionnairedet02pt1vaca.pdf>. Holy Mother Church teaches in its Catechism, "1390
Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion
under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of
Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has
been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But 'the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since
in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more
clearly.'222 This is the usual form of receiving communion in the
Eastern rites. 222. General Instruction of the Roman Missal 240." The Servant of God Fr. John A. S. A. Hardon, S.J.observed, "Not all Calixtines, however, were heretics. They could be Catholics who
took advantage of the Church's concession to receive the chalice but
also believed that Holy Communion under both forms was not necessary for
salvation." In that sense, you or I could be considered Calixtines because of our habit of receiving the Most Precious Blood of Christ when we attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Calixtines
This name, taken from the Latin word calix, used to describe, among supporters of John Huss, who in the fifteenth century, reducing the minimum of their claims to four articles, vindicated especially the use of the chalice or communion under both species for the laity. Communion sub utraque was not unknown in Christian practice, see COMMUNION UNDER BOTH SPECIES [Vol. 3, col. ####; PDF ###-###], but the Church had long prohibited it because of its disadvantages. Huss himself, at least in its early days, had not thought to resume this use without the express consent of the Church. But some of his supporters, under the inspiration of Jacobel, vindicated the right to practice it. And the Council of Constance, faithful to the prescriptions of the past sages and suspecting moreover, not without reason, that this innovation masked some dogmatic error on the real presence, condemned in its thirteenth general session, June 15, 1415. [Gian Domenico] Mansi [Catholic], t . XXVII, col. 726-728 [PDF ###]; Hardouin, t. VIII, col. 380-382; [Karl Josef von] Hefele [Catholic], Histoire des conciles, French trans. Paris, 1876, t. X, p. 477-478. But neither the Archbishop of Prague or the king of Bohemia, Wenceslas could enforce the decree of the council. Jacobel composed a violent diatribe against the Fathers of Constance he called "the doctors of the use." And Huss, changing of attitude that prisoner, hastened to write to his disciple Haulick, who had replaced the flesh in Bethlehem, not oppose the use of the chalice, not to fight Jacobel, and his friend Christian to adjure Bohemian nobility of having to defend a use which the council had to ban contrary to the teaching of the Gospel and the primitive tradition. The execution of Huss, which occurred on the following July 6, aroused the indignation of supporters of the chalice and excited a bloody revolt in Bohemia. Despite the intervention of the Bishop of Leitomysl, who was powerless to avert the storm, the nobility sent a protest to the council, notifying its refusal to obey. The use of the chalice was maintained and widespread; it became a rallying sign, the symbol of Calixtines.

The Letters of Savonarola to the Christian Princes for the Assembly of a Council

631
The pages devoted by Louis Pastor (1) to the Florentine reformer and the fair or harsh responses it has attracted poses again, not only in the heart of Piagnoni who faithfully guard the fervent cult of his memory, but to the opinion of the Catholic world, the Savonarola question. For four centuries, the trial is debated and the cause is still pending. Our intention is not, here at least, to throw us in full scrimmage and enter the intense debates; we only want to draw attention to one of the parts of the trial, which, we believe, has not been interpreted so far as it should be, neither by the most resolute opponents of the Frate, nor even by his most convinced apologists. We refer to the Letters to Christian princes for the meeting of a council.
These letters, in the plan, were to be five in number, addressed to the Emperor, the King of France, the King and Queen of Spain, the King of England, and King of Hungary. Only the first three have been preserved. We give here in its entirety the letter to the Emperor; from the other two we adduce the passages relating to the council. From comparing different the literal interpretation and theological doctrine they express or to which they refer become more obvious.
(1) History of the Popes From the Close of the Middle Ages, vol. V and VI.

George Vernadsky points out that the testimony of the people who were in the courtyard at the time of the tsarevich's death ("Vasilisa Volokhova, Irina Tuchkova, Maria Samoylova, and the four boys, Dimitry's playmates") is to be preferred to the testimony of "witnesses" who were not (Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna Nagaya and Mikhail Nagoy) -- see (The Death of the Tsarevich Dimitry: A Reconsideration of the Case, Oxford Slavonic Papers, Vol. V, 1954, 15-17). The Stledstevennoe Delo, the official investigative proceedings, is a more reliable source than the 17th century Russian chronicles (op. cit., 19).

The above account renders unworthy of belief the story related by Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović of Ohrid and Žiča (Prologue from Ohrid, June 3), who is commemorated by Orthodox Christians on May 3, that Boris Gudonov murdered Dimitry. If Bishop Nikolaj meant that Dimitry posthumously appeared to a monk informing him that he was murdered by Boris, we must reject this alleged vision as unhistorical. I invite the reader to suggest whether a serious investigation by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints would affirm whether any of the alleged posthumous miracles by Dimitry are what Fr. Louis Monden, S.J. would call "major prodigies" with intrinsic apologetic value which would "by [their] context or circumstances suggest or confirm" an interpretation of doctrine opposed to the teachings of the Catholic Church; cf. my article "On Miracles Outside the Catholic Church," n. 7.

Symeon's feast is March 12 in the Orthodox churches (Hussey, J. M. "Symeon the New Theologian, Monk of the Studion." New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13, 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 671-672). Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI rightly referred to him as "holy," though I have yet to confirm some Catholic brothers' references (here, here, and here) of his presence on some Eastern Catholic calendars. Constantinople was in union with Rome during Symeon's life, as the reader will understand if he consults these writings:
(1) Martin Jugie, A.A., Le schisme byzantin; aperçu historique et Doctrinal (Paris: P. Lethielleux, 1941)
(2) Siméon Vailhe, "Constantinople, Église de," Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique (Paris 1907), 3.2

I will do further research before October to see if any data contradicts my thesis, and to find any writings of Symeon that shed more light on his views on the procession of the Holy Spirit and on Rome. Constantinople was in union with Rome during Symeon's life, as the reader will understand if he consults the writings of Martin Jugie, A.A. and Simeon Vailhé. I will dig through Pelikan's work, the introductory notes in Migne, and the bibliography in Hussey's encyclopedia article, among other sources.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

"The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church" -- Pope Eugene IV at the Ecumenical Council of Florence, Bull "Cantate Domino"

"No man can find salvation except in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. One can have honor, one can have the sacraments, one can sing alleluia, one can answer amen, one can have faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and preach it too, but never can one find salvation except in the Catholic Church" -- St. Augustine the Great of Hippo, Sermon to the People of the Church of Caesarea, 6 (Patrologia Latina 43:695), qtd. in John Randolph Willis, The Teachings of the Church Fathers (Ignatius Press, 2002), 60 <https://books.google.com/books?id=leoK-f67rsYC&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q&f=false>. Latin: "Extra Ecclesiam catholicam totum potest praeter salutem. Potest habere honorem, potest habere Sacramenta, potest cantare Alleluia, potest respondere Amen, potest Evangelium tenere, potest in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti fidem habere et praedicare: sed nusquam nisi in Ecclesia catholica salutem poterit invenire."

Pope St. John Paul II the Great of Rome, Crossing the Threshold of Hope (New York: Random House, 1994), 17-18 <https://books.google.com/books?id=feAMAAAAQBAJ&pg=17#v=onepage&q&f=false>: "Much
has been written about prayer, and further, prayer has been widely
experienced in the history of mankind, especially in the history of
Israel and Christianity. Man achieves the fullness of prayer not when he expresses himself, but when he lets God be most fully present in prayer.
The history of mystical prayer in the East and West attests to this:
Saint Francis, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross, Saint
Ignatius of Loyola, and, in the East, for example, Saint Seraphim of Sarov and many others."

Pope St. John Paul II the Great of Rome, Apostolic Visit to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, Pilgrimage to the Holy Monastery of Rila (3/25/2002): "Having
been enabled to see the world through God’s eyes, and become ever more
configured to Christ, religious men and women move towards the ultimate
end for which man was created: divinization, sharing in the life of the
Trinity. Grace makes this possible only to those who — through prayer,
tears of compunction and charity — open themselves to the Holy Spirit,
as we are reminded by another great monk of these beloved Slav lands, Seraphim of Sarov (cf. Colloquio con Motovilov III, in P. Evdokimov, Serafim di Sarov, Uomo dello Spirito, Bose 1996, pp. 67-81)." <http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2002/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20020525_rila-bulgaria.html>

Louis Monden, S.J., Signs and Wonders: A Study of the Miraculous Element in Religion (New York: Desclée, 1966), 306-307: "Let us study, for instance, the life of St. Seraphim of Sarov (died
in 1833), the greatest miracle-worker of the 19th century. His
biography, no doubt, presents an impressive number of facts which any
Catholic would readily recognize as proofs of a supernatural
intervention of God.He
would, however, recognize just as readily that none of them qualifies
as a major miracle, that is, one with an intrinsic apologetic value and
of the kind we have so far found absent everywhere except in the
Catholic Church. There are two particularly striking instances among the
cures attributed to him: the cases of Michael Manturov and Judge
Nikolai Motovilov. Both are cases of functional paralysis, which,
judging by the way the illness and the manner of the cure are described,
could have been cured, medically speaking, through spontaneous
psychotherapy with religious motivation. At the Lourdes Bureau cases
like these would not even be considered."

-Theologico-Historical Commission, "THE EARTH IS FILLED WITH YOU SPIRIT, LORD": "This text, for now, intends to be an instrument of reflection and prayer,
until the gift of the Spirit penetrates the life of every believer. According to
the words of Jesus in fact, if the terrestrial father grants the prayers of his
own children «how much more the Father in Heaven will give the Spirit to
those who pray to him» (Lk 11, 13). Prayer is so important for the
gift of the Spirit that there exists a variation of the Our Father, followed by
many Fathers of the Church, where, at the point of the invocation «May your
Kingdom come - we read - may your Spirit come unto us and purify us» (cf.
Gregorio of Nissa, Homily on the Our Father, III, 6). It is in this
prospective that we can understand, then, the words of a Russian saint of the
last century, Serafino of Sarov (1833): «The true end of Christian life is
the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, fasting, vigils, charity, these are
only means to acquire the Holy Spirit».
<http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/magazine/documents/ju_mag_01091997_p-45_en.html>

-Eleuterio F. Fortino, Ecumenical Commission, "LIFE IN THE SPIRIT IN THE EASTERN AND WESTERN TRADITIONS":

A publication in St. Petersburg presented by Fr. Tecle Vetrali, professor at the Ecumenical Institute "San Bernardino" in Venice, could be taken as a synthesis of the symposium itself. It deals with an experience of communion started between the Patriarch of Moscow and the Franciscan Order of Brothers Minor. The professor said: «This fraternal relationship has exposed many affinities between the Orthodox and Franciscan spiritualities. The correspondence does not reduce to the psychological or cultural field. The communion is profound and touches the same roots of existence: it is born from the same Holy Spirit, who introduces us into communion with the one Christ and the one Father, illuminating us with the one Gospel». The title of the publication is: «Multiple experiences of the one Gospel. Testimonies of the Russian and Franciscan Spiritualities». The book was written by both Catholics and Orthodox and presents some eminent saints from both traditions: Sergio of Radonez, Serafino of Sarov, Elisabeth of Essen, Nicolas of Mira, Francis of Assisi, Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua. The biographies are preceded by a brief history and characterization of Russian monastic and Catholic Franciscan life. The relator concluded: «This book is presented as an exchange of gifts between two Churches and two spiritual traditions which yearn for communion and unity».
The division between Catholics and the Orthodox has in fact also contributed to a profound wound in the recognition of sanctity. The calendars of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church are different, except for the saints common in the first century. In particular, the saints canonized after the division are absent. This aporia in veneration is based on theological presuppositions and necessitates a solution in the realm of establishing full communion. The ecclesial division has sliced into the communion of saints, at least in terms of their recognition for veneration. This makes the contradiction generated by the division more evident.
The relations which the Catholic Church has established with other Christians since the Second Vatican Council have, in addition to the growth of communion and fraternity, enabled us to discover what God is bringing about in the members of other Churches and ecclesial communities. The Holy Father has made a theological and spiritual elegy of this. «In a theocentric vision, we Christians already have a common Martyrology» (UUS, 84). In fact, «The witness to Christ borne even to the shedding of blood has become a common inheritance of Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants» (TMA, 37). Pope John Paul II desires that the «Christian testimony» given particularly in this century - in the time of Nazism, communism, dictatorships in various parts of the world - are not forgotten, but rather are recognized, are placed forward in such a way as to become examples to imitate. This has an ecumenical value which goes beyond its theological conceptualization. «Perhaps the most convincing form of ecumenism is the ecumenism of the saints and of the martyrs», affirms the Holy Father in the same place. «The communio sanctorum speaks louder than the things which divide us».

Archimandrite Lazarus Moore, An Extraordinary Peace: St. Seraphim Flame of Sarov [a.k.a. Saint Seraphim of Sarov: A Spiritual Biography] (Anaphora Press, 2009), 238-239: "But
if Father Seraphim spoke of the superiority of Orthodoxy to Old
Ritualism, still more did he consider it superior to Roman Catholicism. 'He urged us,' we read in the Diveyev Chronicle, 'to
stand firmly for the truth of the dogmas of the Orthodox Church, giving
as an example St. Mark of Ephesus who showed unshakable zeal in defense
of the Eastern Catholic [Orthodox] faith at the Council of Florence. He
himself gave various instructions on Orthodoxy, explaining its essence
and stressing that it alone contained the truth of Christ's faith in its
integrity and purity. He also gave instructions as to how to defend
it.'" Ibid. 242-243, on the vision allegedly experienced "in the early 1920’s, [by someone from] a noble family of Protestants in Alsace": "'Suddenly
I saw [St.] Francis [of Assisi] himself coming towards me, and with him
a little old man like a patriarch, bent but radiant,' she said
indicating thereby his old age and venerable appearance. He was all in
white. She felt frightened, but they came quite near her and Francis
said; 'My
daughter, you seek the true Church. It is there, where he is. It
supports everyone, and does not require support from anyone.' The
white Elder remained silent and only smiled approvingly at the words of
Francis. … When she visited his room to see whether he was comfortably
settled, she saw there a small Icon and recognized in it the Elder whom
she had seen, in her light sleep, with Francis. Astonished and alarmed
she asked: 'Who is he, that little old man?''St. Seraphim, our Orthodox saint,'
answered the workman. Then she understood the meaning of the words of
St. Francis about the truth being in the Orthodox Church."
Update 3/5/2016: I will try to find this in the Chronicles of :
(a) pre-1903: http://www.4udel.nne.ru/library/books/letopis
(b) 1903-1927: http://www.4udel.nne.ru/library/books/916/918

-Francis Dvornik, The Slavs in European History and Civilization (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1962) 172: Gregory "composed, among other works, twenty-four homilies and a panegyric on Euthymius [Orthodox Patriarch of Trnovo and Bulgaria] and Cyprian [Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus']. His biography of the Serbian king, Stephen Uroš II, deserves to be mentioned. The biography of St. Romil attributed to him was actually written by a hermit named Gregory."
Note: Stephen II professed papal primacy in his Profession of Faith for Pope John XXII (1316-1334), during the reign of Nicodemus I (1316-1324), according to Fr. Martin Jugie, A.A. Theologia dogmatica Christianorum orientalium ab Ecclesia Catholica dissidentium IV:373.
-Dvornik 174: "Another life of [Stephen] Uroš III was written, as mentioned above, by Gregory Camblak of Bulgaria."
Editor:
-Dvornik 226-227: Vitold"induced his Orthodox bishops to elect, in 1415, the Bulgarian Gregory Camblak as metropolitan of Kiev. The Metropolitan Photius of Moscow protested, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, who had refused all Vitold's requests for an independent metropolitan, excommunicated Gregory. This plan may have originated in Jagiello's and Vitold's western policy. They hoped that the presence of the new metropolitan of Kiev and of all Russia at the Council of Constance (1415) would provide incontrovertible evidence that there was no reason why the Teutonic Order should be allowed to continue its activity in Prussia: not only had all pagans in those parts been converted, but the Poles and Lithuanians were also bringing back to Rome the Russian schismatics. The whole plan misfired. The learned Bulgarian refused to back their polical plans and turned down the proposals of the council for reunion. After his death (1419), the Muscovite metropolitan continued to exercise his jurisdiction over the Lithuanian Orthodox."
Editor: Dvornik implies that Gregory was Orthodox; this contradicts Jugie and Gill, whose work testifies that Gregory was Catholic after the Council of Constance. In the footnotes to this section of the chapter, Dvornik refers to Albert Maria Ammann, S.J. Abriss der Ostlawischen Kirchengeschichte, Vienna 1950, 73-129; I have to comb this section to find any relevant info that may answer the question of Gregory's ecclesiastical allegiance.
-Oscar Halecki, From Florence to Brest (1439-1596), 2nd. ed., (Archon Books, 1968), 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 37, 44:
28: Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople excommunicated Gregory Tsamblak, as did his predecessor the Orthodox Patriarch Euthymius II of Constantinople.
31: "... the spectacular audience of the Metropolitan of Kiev seems not to have been followed by any further negotiations with him, and ... soon after his return from Constance Tsamblak disappeared, maybe retiring to a Moldavian monastery.70 ... 70 This is the hypothesis of [A.I.] Yatsimirsky (see above, note 54 [Grigoriy Tsamblak, Petersburg 1904]); see also Chodyrnicki, 47 note 4."
-Dmytro Blazejowskyj, Hierarchy of the Kyivan Church (861-1990) (Ed. Univ. Cath. Ucr. Clementis Papae, Opera N. 72, Sacrum Ucrainae Millenium, No. 3.), 90-91:
-Roger Aubert, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques. Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 2000-2003, vol. 28, cols. 1494-1501: "Shortly before his death (September 1406), Metropolitan Cyprian called his nephew Gregory (cf. 52. CAMBLAC Gregory, supra, XXI, 1486-88) to travel to Kiev with the intent to ensure his succession. But Cyprian died before the arrival of Gregory and the Patriarch of Constantinople appointed a Greek Photius (1408-1431) to replace it. The new Grand Prince of Lithuania, Vitovt, refused to recognize this and he tried to detach the bishoprics of his dominions within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Moscow by electing Gregory as Metropolitan of Kiev with residence in Vilna. The Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated him, and Gregory, at the request of Vitovt, led a delegation to the Lithuanian-Russian Orthodox Council of Constance (his position in favor of union with Rome is not clear)."